"He is overrated" – Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk slammed by ex-Chelsea star for 'rubbish' performance against Fulham

Ex-Chelsea defender Jason Cundy has lambasted Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk after his team's 2-1 EFL Cup semi-final first leg victory over Fulham on Wednesday (January 10).

The Reds, who are atop the 2023-24 Premier League table with 45 points from 20 outings, pulled off a comeback win against Marco Silva's outfit at Anfield. Following Willian's first half opener, Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo netted a goal apiece in the second half for the hosts.

Van Dijk, meanwhile, endured a tough first half in Liverpool's recent clash. The 32-year-old struggled to head the ball to safety in the 19th minute and allowed Willian to convert a half-chance. He also picked up a booking just five minutes later as the Reds trailed 1-0 at home.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Cundy offered his opinion on the Liverpool centre-back's outing in their contest against Fulham. The former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur star said (h/t SPORTbible):

"He can do this... Van Dijk. Sometimes he puts in displays where you go, 'That's a bit rubbish'. Not only does he head the ball in a direction that you don't want him to. Personally, I think he is overrated. I don't think he is anywhere near the levels, consistently, of the likes of Sol Campbell, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. I don't think he is anywhere near that, personally."

Cundy, who featured in 48 games for Chelsea in his career, continued:

"He's had two good seasons. I know people will go on about the injury he picked up against Everton during COVID-19 [in 2020]. It was a terrible injury. There's no doubt he is top-class. But I don't think he's in that all-time Premier League XI. He is nowhere near it."

So far this season, Van Dijk has helped Liverpool keep six shutouts in 21 matches across competitions, registering one goal and two assists.

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino reacts to Liverpool legend Jordan Henderson rumors

Earlier this month, Fichajes.net claimed that Chelsea are keen to sign ex-Liverpool star and Al-Ettifaq midfielder Jordan Henderson this January. However, they could face competition from the likes of Newcastle United, Crystal Palace and Fulham in the ongoing window.

Queried about Chelsea's links with the 33-year-old midfielder, Mauricio Pochettino responded in a recent press conference (h/t Football365):

"At the moment, we are not talking about bringing players. I saw Behdad [Eghbali] here in the manager's room with Paul [Winstanley] and Laurence [Stewart]. I think tomorrow we are going to have a chat because we will be in the training ground. We didn't talk about names or talk about position [or] players. For now, we are focusing on players like Andrey Santos to see what we are going to do."

Henderson, who left Anfield to join Al-Ettifaq for £12 million last July, has registered 33 goals and 56 assists in 431 Premier League games.